Nuclear Winter
by RogueRevenant
Summary: Winter has come to the Commonwealth, and in the midst of a snowstorm, Piper Wright and Dexter Wayne find their feelings for each other. (Same M!SS as my other story, only this one is before the events that occurred.)
The sun was soon setting over the Commonwealth, reclaiming any heat that it delivered to it's frozen, brittle grounds. Winter nights were far more aggressive, more unforgiving to the settlers than the summer. Snow completely blanketed the grounds, shielding any view of barren, dead grass. The moonlight enhanced the beauty of the snow, making small little sparkles, like stars, but on a white background. However, it's mesmerizing perfection could only be safely observed indoors, for the coldness was almost too much to endure.

But not for two travelers, Dexter Wayne, and Piper Wright.

"Sh-sh-shit, Blue," the red coated woman's teeth chattered. "Are w-we almost at S-Sanctuary yet? I'm f-f-freezing."

Dexter exhaled deeply, trying to conserve body heat. "I th-think so," He muttered, trying to fight the cold. He, for one, was no stranger to the cold. Two-hundred years, packed up in a vault, in cryogenic stasis helped him build up his tolerance. But, he felt himself falling tired. Fatigued, even. He was beginning to show signs of hypothermia, such as slurred speech. "Fuck, I don' know if I'll make it…"

"Blue, you'll be okay. C'mon, just fight a little bit longer, alright buddy?" Piper turned her attention to the shaking man. Snow was blowing into their faces, obscuring their vision greatly, so she could hardly make out his facial features. She worried about him, he looked as if he wasn't going to be able to pull through for much longer.

Suddenly, she felt compelled to grab him by the hand, and guide him through the blistering frost. They were best friends, but nothing more. But on Piper's end, she was beginning to develop deep feelings for the man. The one who had undergone deep, vile torment, and somehow still managed to stay positive. She was moved by the way he would always care for her, always throw himself into danger for her, even if it scared her. Dexter was always her safe place if she ever needed someone to confide in, and she found herself often asking him for advice every now and then. But she knew that the man had just lost his wife. There was a great chance that he could probably never, ever love again.

Or so she thought.

The blue-suited vault dweller's legs began to fail him. The drowsiness began to overpower him, and he sunk to his knees into the snow. Piper kneeled down beside him, trying to encourage him to get up.

"Dex, get up! You can't just sit here in the snow, we gotta keep moving!" she yelled. But he could barely comprehend what she was saying. He speaking incoherently, losing his ability to focus.

"Piper… Wright," He mumbled. He wasn't making any sense anymore, just saying her name for no reason.

"B-Blue, please get up," she pleaded, but he wouldn't listen. "Fine, if you're gonna make me carry you, I will then." She tried lifting him over her shoulders, but Dexter was far to heavy to do so. Now, she saw a downside to him being built so perfectly. She tried a multitude of different ways to try to get him up, but they all failed. Finally, she wrapped her arms around his waist, and began to drag him along the snow. A trail cut through the six inch deep powder, as she pulled him with more and more force.

"Piper… where am I?" he asked, becoming more disoriented. And as his health declined, so did her composure.

"Shh, everything's gonna be okay, Dexter," she grunted, as she pulled him with more force. Past the whipping snow, she could see a small shelter. "Pull through a little longer, please?" Eventually, she made it to the shelter, and she slammed the door shut, locking it as well. Turning her attention back to Dexter, she could see that he was still in bad condition. His skin, normally a natural tan, had become deathly pale, along with his pink lips. She pulled her jacket off, and proceeded to wrap it around him, trying to supply him warmth, along with checking his pulse. He was fine. "T-talk about a nuclear winter, huh Blue? Jesus," she coughed, rubbing her hands together to try to generate her own warmth, and ruffling his red, messy locks of hair.

He didn't respond.

"Blue? Dex?" she asked, becoming increasingly worried.

Still nothing. He looked lifeless on the ground, barely stirring.

"Dexter, this isn't funny. Say something," she said, putting her hands on his chest. "Don't do this. Please, please wake up." She pinched him, trying to awaken him. Still, he wouldn't open his eyes. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" He had a pulse, and he was breathing, and he was just speaking before they got in the house. What in the world could be wrong?

Piper couldn't stop herself from beginning to tear up. Those tears began to slip from her cheeks, and onto his neck, as she begged him to wake up. Sobs started to replace the silence in the room. "Blue, don't do this, please. Please, I need you. Just wake up." Her grieving sobs gradually increased, as she cried even harder into his neck and shoulder. "You can't do this! I love you, please, stay with me! Say something!" she shook violently, as she began to lose all hope that the man she had grown to love, was still alive.

Dexter's eyes fluttered open, and he was frozen, but not because of the blistering cold. This time, it was because of the crying woman in who was so close to him as of that moment. He was awakening to hear Piper's confession, and her sobs of pain began to break him. But he didn't move, he listened on. He wanted to hear more of what she had to say.

"Y-you're the only one that made me feel like I mattered anymore! You came into my life when I needed you the most! You can't just come into my life, make me care about, make me fall in love with you, and check out all of a sudden, it doesn't work like that!"

He was about to move, and reassure her that he was still alive, but Piper wasn't finished.

"Dexter… I love you so much. I've loved you ever since I met you outside of Diamond City. And I know you lost your wife, but please… please just come back, and give me a chance. I promise, I'll try to be just like her. I'll care for you, I'll do anything for you to come back, and just love me. Please, Dexter… please…"

Dex was almost on the verge of tears himself. He subtly choked back his tears, trying to maintain his tough-guy image for Piper. He didn't want to seem weak in front of her.

"Piper," he whispered.

Her head flung up so fast, she almost gave herself whiplash. "Blue!" She peeled him off of the hard wood floor, gripping him into loving embrace. "Blue, y-you're alive… Jesus Christ, you're alive." She wept into his blue vault suit, this time, tears of joy. Dexter pulled back from her, looking her deep in the eyes. Her eyelids were moist, covered in salty tears, her eye were red, and her face was flushed. "B-Blue?"

He wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "I love you too, Piper."

"What? You…" she tried to speak, but what Dexter said threw her off track.

"I love you, Piper. I've loved you for a long time. I just didn't know if you felt the same way. You don't have to do anything to get me to love you, because I fell in love with you the moment I saw you yelling at that Intercom when I first came to Diamond City," he smiled, cupping her cheeks in each hand. "You are absolutely amazing, in every single aspect. And you don't need to be like Nora, because you're perfect just the way you are, and you always will be. You are the most valuable thing that this Commonwealth has."

Piper's heart melted into a puddle of happiness, and she smiled sheepishly. Never, until then, had anyone confessed love for her. Everyone in Diamond City detested her, except for a few close outcast friends, such as Nick Valentine. Nobody wanted to associate themselves with the nosy reporter, always digging into other people's business. Never in a million years would she have dreamed that someone, not even born in her own time, would ever fall for her.

But she was wrong.

"Blue, god, I… I don't know what to say…" she said, trying not to cry even harder.

"You don't have to say anything, Piper. Just kiss me."

Piper practically threw herself into Dexter's face, bumping teeth with him, as she shoved her lips onto his. The kiss was aggressive, but fueled by passion. She felt a smile creep up on his lips, as she wrestled tongues with him. Her hands clasped the back of his neck with authority, almost in a possessive manner. They bit each others lower lips playfully, trying to suck the taste off of them. After one solid minute of fierce kissing, the two reluctantly released, requiring oxygen.

Dexter gazed longingly into the reporter's eyes. He wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his days with her, she was everything to him that he could ever desire. Smiling at her, he gently caressed her cheek, tracing lines upon the freckles across her face.

Piper buried herself into Dexter's chest, taking in his aroma of sweat and gun oil. The two exchanged an "I love you" before lying back down onto the hard floor. But the venue of where they were sleeping didn't matter to either. What mattered, was the fact that they had each other, and that would be enough for them to sustain any issue, big or small.


End file.
